Whiting Petroleum to buy land for $260 million

DENVER — Whiting Petroleum Corp. said Tuesday that it will pay $260 million to buy oil and gas wells and development land in North Dakota and Montana.

The Denver-based oil and gas company said the land covers 17,282 net acres. It was expected to produce an average of 2,420 barrels of oil equivalent a day in August, the company said.

“This acreage expands our presence in our Western Williston Basin area where we have seen recent strong production growth,” said James Volker, Whiting Petroleum’s chairman and CEO, in a statement.

Whiting Petroleum said it expects the deal to close by Sept. 30. The company did not disclose who is selling the properties. It described the seller as a “private party.”

Whiting Petroleum plans to use its existing bank credit facility to pay for the properties.

Shares of Whiting Petroleum rose 45 cents to $51.30 in midday trading Tuesday. They are approaching their high for the past year of $54.86 set last September. They traded as low as $40.19 in late November.